Vindicated
by BelowAverageGatsby
Summary: I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself. ROBBIE/OC. Very cute story!
1. Another Day

_**PLEASE READ!: **So, I had an idea, and here it is. Enjoy!_

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><p>"Who came up with idea of frying a pickle?" Tori examined the food that sat on her fork curiously, a large plate of the strange yet delicious appetizer sat in the middle of the table for the group to share. "Does it matter?" Andre' stated, popping a ranch covered piece into his mouth and groaning. Tori pondered, before shrugging and throwing her piece into her mouth.<p>

Today was ordinary. Well, as ordinary as one can possibly get for being in an art school. Robbie sat back, observing. His hand sweat from the heat that was building up in the puppet at his arm, but he hadn't noticed. Everything was the usual; Cat was bubbley, Tori was chatty, Jade was a bitch, and Andre' and Beck were quietly talking amongst themselves.

"Did you hear about the new student that starts Monday?" Cat chimed in suddenly, interrupting the argument building between Tori and Jade about who knew what anymore. Everyone stared, Cat sipping her drink and grinning to herself. They all waited for her to elaborate, but they knew she wouldn't unless someone spoke up. "What about it?" Robbie said, his brown eyes met Cats. Her eyes furrowed together in confusion. "What about who?" Everyone groaned, but Robbie still pressed the issue. "The new student? What new student?" Cat's eyes lit up in realization. "Well, as you know, I helped with the mid-year auditions," everyone looked at her, puzzled, but she continued anyway.

"Most of the auditionee's were freshmen, but one was a junior. She was a dancer and singer." Cat suddenly got overwhelmingly excited, clapping her hands. Cat droned as everyone started to loose interest. Robbie would be lying if he said he didn't perk up at the word 'she', but he also knew he wouldn't have the guts to talk to her, let alone ask her out.

The rest of the day continued to be as slow as Robbie's conscience could possibly make it. He usually wasn't brooding, but today he just wanted to be alone. He heard about parties that were going on this weekend, he wasn't invited as usual, but he still heard about them.

Thank god it was Friday, or he might have gone crazy. As you'd expect, Robbie wasn't exactly the happiest human being in the world, but lately he's been feeling more off than usual. Next year was his senior year, then he was out. He _still_ never had a real girlfriend, he _still_ never really had any plans for life. Every day was almost like a battle between killing himself or setting everyone around him on fire, but he would never voice that. Robbie wouldn't voice many things.

It was why he carried Rex. He didn't see Rex as a puppet. His mind had completely convinced him that Rex was an actual human being that said the things that Robbie couldn't. It was a problem.

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><p><em>... to be continued...<em>


	2. I Wont Rot

_**PLEASE READ!: **Yay! Chapter two!_

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><p>For your average high school Junior, the weekends consisted of parties, friends, laughing, and good times. For Robbie, weekends were usually just a blur of saltine crackers, World of Warlords, and masturbating. He was never invited anywhere, so his weekends were usually spent wasted on mindless activies just to make the days pass quicker.<p>

This weekend was no different as he pulled into the school parking lot Monday morning, the usual tabel in his sight with all of his friends there. He sighed as he walked around his car to the passengers seat to unbuckle Rex, swinging his messenger bag around his shoulder and placing Rex on his arm. "C'mon, man. I'm starvin'."

"Well, you should have eaten breakfast this morning." Robbie responded to Rex and the puppets head shook. "Oh yeah, _Fiber-o's_. How appealing." Robbie sighed, his stomach growling as he walked to the table, placing his bag down unnoticed, before walking to Festus' truck to get something to eat.

"Hey, Festus. What's the morning spec-" "You see I'm with customer?" Robbie jumped at the foreign mans outburst. "Is he always like this?" a voice to the left of him piped up. He turned to see an unfamiliar face, and it took everything he had to keep his jaw from dropping. He analized her quickly, taking in every feature and curve before his staring was concered too long. He had become good at it over the years.

The first thing he noticed was her hair. It was short in the back, but long enough to have two small pigtails at the nape of her neck. It angled doward, getting longer toward the front, framing her face in all of the right ways. The layering made it look pieced out and choppy. Her bangs angled across her face, angling down to the left. It was a redish-brownish color, complete with blonde highlights throughout the head, and black in the bangs.

Then it was her eyes. They were the brightest green he had ever seen, and her smile was damn near perfect, outlined by full lips. Her jawline was squared, but soft and fit her face. She wore almost no make up, but she did have a thin line of black liner on her top lid, swerving into small wings at the corner of her almond shaped eyes. He nose was small, and upturned slightly. Her cheeks were adorned with deep dimples when she smiled. Her skin was pale, with a handfull of freckles dusted across her nose and cheekbones.

The top of her head reached Robbie's chin. She wore a tight, purple plaid button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She wore black shorts, but her legs were hardly bare. Colorful tattoo's scattered across her thighs and claves. She had dancer's legs, shaped perfectly as they seemed miles long, ending in black, low-top Chuck Taylors. She was thin, but had an hour glass figure. Her tiny waist and broad hips reminding him of a 50's house wife.

His mind ticked, reminding him that his staring time was up. "Um, usually, yeah." He said, finally answering her question. Her smile didn't faulter as she nodded, looking back to the truck. "What you want?" Festus finally returned, handing a plastic case to the girl. "I'll just have a breakfast burrito." Festus breathed heavily, as if frusterated, before turning back to his gril. Robbie sat patiently, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Nory." She said suddenly. Robbie was almost surprised at how much the voiced startled him, looking to the girl again. He figured she had left, and was shocked to find her still standing beside him. "Excuse me?" She laughed, making his heart melt. "I'm new here. My name is Noreen, but everyone calls me Nory." She held out her hand, and Robbie took it cautiously. Still not understanding why she was still there. "R-Robbie. This is Rex." "Hey, pretty thing."

Noreen giggled, reaching out and grabbing Rex's small hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you both." Her smile brightened. Robbie gulped, turning back to the truck, fully expecting her to leave again.

But she didn't.

Robbie shifted uncomfortably, Rex looking between him and the new girl. "Why don't you sit with us, Hips?" "Rex!" Robbie looked at the girl, almost sure he was going to get slapped or _anything_. "Sure! I don't know anybody. I was sitting there." She said, pointing behind her. Robbie looked, only to find she was pointing to their usual table. Cat waiving vigurously at them. "That's where we usually sit!" Robbie exclaimed, sounding far more excited than he wanted to.

"Breakfast burrito." Festus returned again, handing the food to Robbie as he handed the money to Festus. "You related to Andy Sandberg, yes?" Festus questioned, raising his eyebrow at Robbie. "No! I'm not related to Andy Sandberg, damnit!"

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><p>Robbie learned a lot about Noreen Hughes. She moved to California from Detroit, Michigan. She didn't get along with her mother and father, so she moved in with her brother Ryan, and his wife Maddie. They talked about her tattoos, finding out that Ryan was a tattoo artist. Robbies favorite tattoo was the intricate antlers she had on her collar bones, that almost looked like they had cherry blossoms blooming from the design. He also couldn't help but notice the bows on the back of her thighs.<p>

She was different, strange, outgoing, funny, intelligent. They discussed their mutual love for video games, and fantasy stories. When he told her about World of Warlords, she didn't laugh, or turn away. When he geeked out about the current technology, she just smiled, and asked questions, and stated her opinions. She told him that she wasn't that big of a Pear Products fan, and showed him her Cyborg smart phone, surprising Robbie when she asked him to put his number in the device.

He found out that they had all but two classes together. He also discovered her locker was right under his, as it was decorated with song lyrics from her favorite song (After the Storm) by her favorite band, that they just happened to share (Mumford & Sons).

Anyone else would have called it a 'convenient coniscidence', but Robbie called it 'fate'.

He turned from the food truck to the table, seeing Nory sitting with the group and laughing about something with Cat and Tori. He smiled to himself, "You think she likes me?" "Man, _no one_ likes you." Rex said, bringing Robbie from the clouds a little. It was true, though. Robbie was a mess.

Robbie sauntered towards the table, Nory moving to the side so that he may sit next to her. He heasitated for a second, but sat anyway. He suddenly remembered a neat weather app he had on his PearPad and pulled it out, ready to show everyone. "You guys have to see this, it's this cool-" He was interrupted by everyone groaning. Rex should his head, "I could think of one hundred ways to say no one cares, but-" "No one cares, Robert!" Jade burst, interrupting Rex. "What the freaky one said." Rex agreed. Robbie looked down, closing his mouth, before taking a bite of his quesidilla as the group continued talking.

Nory looked from him to everyone else, at almost a complete loss of words. She turned to him. It was almost as if he had deflated, as if he were a balloon that had been poped. She coughed, leaning in. "Tell me about the app." Robbie looked up to her, forcing a smile, before shaking his head. "No, it's not that interesting." She leaned back, looking to her plate, before turning to Cat as she talked about her make-up class.

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><p>"So, tell be about this 'Bird Scene' thing I have to do." Nory said, nealing down at her locker as Robbie waiting patiently for her to finish. "I can't, it's the rules." Nory looked up at him, sighing when he didn't meet her gaze. Her phone rang as she stood up and closed her locker, seeing it was her brother. "Hey, are you here?"<p>

Robbie took the oportunity to open his locker, carefully placing Rex into his bag after putting everything else in it. He glaced over to Noreen, who stood a few feet away from him. "Why can't you come get me?" She asked, Robbie listened carefully. "I don't know the bus schedule yet, Ryan." She pouted, putting her hand on her forehead. Robbie's heart started pounding. He could make this work. "No, Ryan. It's fine, I understand. I gotta learn the city anyway, I guess." She turned to Robbie, shaking her head, she still had a smile on her face. She said her good-byes, hanging up her phone and putting it in her pocket, before looking at Robbie and sighing.

"What?" "My brother can't get me, so I have to take a bus or a cab home." She said, slinging her bag around her shoulder, pulling out her phone again as she began to search for the bus schedule. Robbie took a deep breath. "I.." He stopped himself, turning toward the door. "You what?" She said, before he began to leave. He shifted on his feet a few times before turning to her. "I can take you home..." He suggested, looking at her but not looking her in the eyes. Her smile fell briefly, but just enough to scare Robbie. "If you want, I mean. I understa-" "I'd like that!" Robbie shut his mouth quickly, looking at her as she smiled from ear to ear. He stood straight, staring at his feet in an attempt to hide his flushing cheeks.

"After you." She said, stepping towards him. He shook his head, "No, after you." She laughed at his protest. "I don't know what your car looks like." Robbie mentally slapped himself at the obvious realization, turning around quickly, heading to his car with Nory close behind him.

Making their way through the parking lot to his car, Robbie got to the passengers side first, unlocking the door and holding it open for the freckled girl. She smiled widely at him, "How chivalrous." Robbie's cheeks darkened, remembering how his sister always yelled at him about how to treat a lady.

He quickly ran to the other side of the car, carefully placing his backpack in the seat behind him before taking his place at the drivers seat. "Buckle up for safety." He reminded stupidly, before exhaling deeply. Embarrased at himself. She pulled on the already buckled strap acrossed her chest, smiling at him again.

He started the car, the music startling them as it was turned all the way up, earning a scream from both of them. Nory quickly reached out, turning it down to an acceptable volume. "Mumford and Sons?" She smiled at him, and he noded sheepishly. "I told you they were my favorite band." He mumbled, backing out and making his way out of the driveway. Noreen's apartment was in the opposite direction from Robbie's house, but he didn't mind. It got him out of the house.

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><p>"So, why do you put up with it?" Noreen said suddenly. They had been discussing Robbie's favorite subject up till now, music. Robbie glanced at her quickly, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion. "The bullying. Your friends treating you like shit. Why?" Robbie stared at the road, gripping his steering wheel. "I don't know what you mean, my friends are great." Noreen sighed, staring at him. She was smart, and had always been able to read people as if they were open books. Robbie was no different, as she watched him deny the abuse. She didn't push the subject.<p>

"This is my apartment." She said, pointing to the complex to the right as Robbie turned into it. "Second building, first door." She said as he pulled to a stop. "What are..." Robbie turned to her, taking a deep breath. She looked at him, and he allowed himself to look at her, her jade eyes seemed to be smiling. "Never mind." He said, giving up and turning back to the wheel. "No!" Noreen protested, unbuckling and fully turning to him. "Don't do this to yourself, Robbie. What were you going to say?"

Robbie sighed again, drumming on the steering wheel quickly, building the courage to speak. "Whatareyoudoingthisweekend?" He spat out, refusing to look at her. She smiled, nodding. "Hanging out with you, if that's what you're offering, but why wait until this weekend? Why don't you come over after school and help me with the Bird Scene?" "I can't help you, it's the rules."

She stared at Robbie, accepting his answer. His eyes were still on the steering wheel, his mind racing. Why was she trying? No one tries. "We'll figure it out." She said suddenly. "No," Robbie shook his head. "Why?" He finally looked at her as she furrowed her eyebrows together. "I'm creepy, I'm awkward, I'm weird. Everyone else is usually long gone by now, why are you still-" He was cut off by Noreen's lips crashing on to his.

His mind was completely erased of all thought as her hands made their way to his jaw line. The kiss was intense and brief as she pulled away. It was as if she never stopped smiling. "See you tomorrow!" She got out of the car quickly, turning to wave at him one more time before entering the apartment bulding.

Robbie just stared. Nothing going through his head, no emotion other than shock showing on his face. He turned back to his steering wheel, staring for a few seconds again before tuning back into the music. "I run and run as the rains come and I look up, I look up, on my knees and out of luck, I look up." He mumbled along, gaining enough thought to drive home.

_Night has always pushed up day._

_You mus know life to see decay,_

_but I wont rot. I wont rot._

_Not this mind, and not this heart._

_**I wont rot**._

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><p><em>...to be continued...<em>


	3. Alone Forever

**_PLEASE READ!:_**_ I don't even have news. Enjoy?_

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><p>Turmoil, confusion, rage, hurt, panic, embarrassment, invaded, mocked, offended, guilty, worry. These were all words that described Robbie's current feelings.<p>

He sat on his bed against his wall, staring at the window across the room with his guitar on his lap. "It was a pity kiss. No girl would willingly kiss you, especially after seeing how sad of a human being you are." Rex said, laid against the pillow. Robbie didn't look at him, but continued to mindlessly swipe his fingertips down the strings of the guitar, strumming various chords that meant almost nothing to him as a song.

He went to bed last night on cloud nine, and woke up so sick to his stomach with all of these feelings that he couldn't bring himself to go to school.. His phone sat beside him, forgotten and ignored. Every text he received he deleted without reading.

The clock on the wall read 3:50. It was Tuesday, which meant that he had a therapy appointment in 40 minutes that he planned on skipping. His phone started ringing again. He casually turned his head towards it, half expecting to see Noreen's name again, only to see his sister's instead. He reached down, pressing the 'speaker' button before laying beside the phone. "Hi, Riley." He said, his voice dripping with licit misery. "Wow, mom _said_ you were down."

Robbie didn't say anything, but waited for her words of wisdom anyway. "What's going on, Rob?" Robbie exhaled as his eyes welled up with tears. As soon as he felt them he tried to hide his emotions, only to fail as he sobbed. It'd be a lie if he were to say this didn't happen often. He was usually good at hiding his feelings, as he should be. By all accounts, he was probably one of the best actors at Hollywood Arts. Riley was really the only one that Robbie allowed to see this side of him, besides Rex and his therapists.

"Riley, why am I such a fucking loser?" He muffled into his bedsheets. It wasn't the first time they had this conversation, which was the only reason she knew what he was saying. "Robbie. What goes on that brings you _this_ low? Why do you let it happen?"

Riley was 22, and engaged, and attractive, and successful, and happy. She was Robbie's best friend. She didn't talk, but instead just let Robbie go. Let him sob into the phone while she listened. After a few minutes, he started to relax, and she took the opportunity to ask questions. "What happened, Robbie?" "The last two times a girl has kissed me, it has been completely fake. Just acting, and my friends treat me like I'm so below them, and we get a new student today, and she's incredible, and she's nice to me, and I just meet her today, and she kisses me, and it's fake. I know it's just out of pity. I just don't want to be alone anymore, Ry." He spilled, sobbing again. Riley waited and listened for him to continue.

"Rex was supposed to be there for me, and he's mean to me now too, and-" "Robbie," Riley sighed, weighing her words. "Rex isn't real." She said slowly, Robbie's cheeks flushed with rage. "You have therapy with Dr. Weiss today, right?" Had she not listened to a word he said? Does anyone _ever_ listen to him?

"No, I'm not going." he retorted shortly. He knew she wasn't going to say anything. What was there to say? "Okay." Robbie could almost feel the disappointment and hopelessness in her voice. "Call me if you need me." He sighed, knowing this conversation was a lost cause, and pressed the end button on his phone without saying good-bye, pushing it off the side of the bed in anger.

Robbie had therapy for multiple reasons. One, was depression. The second, was because no one else would deal with him. The third, and probably most important, was the fact that he suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder. Having had a father that left when Robbie was young, he grew up under the shadow of his always successful sister. Robbie worked hard to be smart, talented, but no matter what he was always treated like the baby, and not like Robbie. He had no male figure to turn to.

When Robbie started school, him getting picked on was instant. He almost constantly got beat up, picked on, and always felt so small and insignificant, only to go home and feel the same way. He always felt like he said the wrong things and thought the things he _should_ have said. He was always good at talking in different voices without people even seeing his lips move. Riley got him Rex for his 13th birthday, and from that point on, he almost always refused to go anywhere without the puppet.

Rex had become this persona to Robbie. He'd become the asshole that Robbie always wanted to be. Getting the doll only hurt Robbie's progress, as he no longer started to see the doll as just that. As far as Robbie was concerned, he was real, and this brought a lot of worry on the table for his therapists.

He never told anyone at school about the therapists. They just thought Robbie was this weird kid, and he would _always _prefer weird over crazy.

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><p>Robbie didn't walk into Hollywood Arts with his usual demeanor today, no. Today, Wednesday, he was on a mission. He had to tell Noreen off, or it was going to kill him. He didn't have Rex with him today, because he wanted to say this himself. Walking through the doors, he spotted her instantly, hunched at her locker, sifting through her book bag. "Noreen." He nearly demanded, marching up to her. She looked at him and smiled, and all courage was lost. "How are you feeling? You weren't here yesterday."<p>

She stood up, dusting her off her pants, and looked at him. Her tight black jeans and red v-neck top hugged her curves, knotting his tongue, making him forget what he even came to school for. "Where's Rex-" "Whydidyoukissme?" He spit out quickly. He didn't care, he was just surprised he said it at all. "What?" She furrowed her brows together, tilting her head to one side, making her hair fall in her face.

"No one likes me." He mumbled, placing his hands in his pockets and looking at his shoes. "I'm comfortable with just being 'that-weird-kid', and I don't need anyone messing that up for me." He adjusted the strap to his backpack on his shoulder, still refusing to look at her. "I go through enough as it is, Noreen. So if you did it as a joke, or a bet, or just because you felt bad-" "No, Robbie!" "Then why?"

She threw her hands out to the side, raising her shoulders in a shrug, before dropping them again. "I don't know." She admitted, "I saw the way your friends treat you, and the way _you_ treat you..." She looked at her shoes this time, giving him the opportunity to finally look at her. Before he could look away, she locked eyes with him, locking him in place. "It just seemed like you could use something other than abuse for once."

"So, pity." He mumbled, looking at his shoes. "_No_!" He ignored her protests. "I don't need your pity, Noreen." "Robbie." "I don't need _anyone's_ pity, I-" "_Robbie_!" He stopped talking, not knowing what to say anymore. He shook his head, looking to his locker, ready to walk away, but he couldn't. He just stood there.

Robbie looked up and Noreen when she suddenly started giggling. Her face was bright red, as she covered her mouth in an attempt to control the chuckles. "What?" He said, his frustration rising, but he couldn't help but smile, her laughter almost contagious. She covered her face with both hands, shaking her head. "_What_?" He said firmly, still trying to fight a grin.

She dropped her hands, smiling at him, before turning to the crowded hallways. "Ladies and gentlemen of Hollywood Arts high school." She announced, holding her arms out. Everyone looked and Robbie blushed. "My name is Nory Hughes," putting a hand on her chest, "I am of the female variety, and I have a crush on Robbie Shapiro."

Robbie shielded his face with his hands, looking at his peers from between his fingers. They continued with their daily activities, careless as to the scene that just happened. He closed his eyes behind his palms before he felt delicate fingers wrap themselves around his wrists, pulling his hands away. He opened his eyes to see Noreen's smiling face. "Convinced?" "You're crazy." Noreen laughed, picking up her bag and turning back to him. "Maybe. Breakfast?"

He nodded slowly, walking around Noreen towards the outdoor cafeteria, still in shock. His heart skipped a beat as Noreen laced her fingers with his. He looked at her, the red in his face deepening. "I know we just met," She said seriously before squeezing his hand. "But I still think that this will be worth it." She continued walking, Robbie walking beside her, staring at their hands. He never thought that he'd know this feeling. A girl _actually_ liking him back, the feeling of soft fingers between his.

She pulled his arm up and around her shoulders, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arm around the back of his waist. He finally let himself smile, taking a deep breath. His smile grew at her next statement.

"You don't have to be alone forever."

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><p><strong><em>... to be continued<em>**


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